What to know about Kate Middleton's new project on nature and kids

Kate, the Princess of Wales, headed outdoors to pose for new photos as she announced a new launch in her long-running passion project: early childhood development.

The photos -- released Friday by Kensington Palace -- show Kate, a mom of three children with her husband, Prince William,  smiling in a fall sweater and jacket as she poses in the woods of Cornwall, England.

Along with the photos, the palace also shared a video of Kate describing the research being undertaken by her foundation, the Center for Early Childhood, to explore how nature can help support the well-being of kids in their earliest years.

"Nature is such an extraordinary environment for us all and, in this tech-driven, digital age, spending quality time outdoors has never been more important," Kate says in the video, later adding, "My hope is that through this practical, nature-based research, we can build supportive environments that help make nature more accessible, benefiting babies, young children and their families across the UK."

Kate, 44, launched the Royal Foundation Center for Early Childhood in 2021 to serve as the hub of her work on early childhood development, which has long been a focus of her royal work.

The princess has also increasingly made the importance of nature a focus of her work, including last year's release of a four-part video series on the power of nature.

Her new project will combine her two passions to "bring together academics, early years practitioners, charities and environmental organizations to better understand how children's access to nature can support healthy social and emotional development during the early years," the palace said in a statement.

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Kate posed for the photos for her project in Cornwall on the same day that her brother-in-law Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, made headlines of their own at their first joint public engagement since moving back to the United Kingdom from California in August.

Harry and Meghan visited with community organizations in Nottingham, located nearly 300 miles away from Cornwall.

Neither Kate nor William, who is known to have a strained relationship with his brother Harry, have publicly commented on Harry and Meghan's return to the U.K.